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University of Rochester engineers built a laser-etched, solar-powered desalination surface that distills seawater using only sunlight and pushes salts aside as solids, avoiding the toxic brine that plagues conventional plants.
At the vast Khavda renewable park in Gujarat, India commissioned 3.37 GWh of battery storage by May 2026 — described as the world's largest single-location battery deployment outside China. Built in about 10 months, it can supply nearly a million homes for a day and firms up the park's solar and wind output.
Chinese researchers reached 32.89% certified efficiency in a perovskite-silicon tandem solar cell using a “peak-selective passivation” trick, with the device keeping about 90% of its performance after 1,000 hours of operation.
In April 2026, wind and solar together generated 22% of the world's electricity, surpassing gas at 20% for the first month ever, according to energy think tank Ember. The two technologies produced a record 531 terawatt-hours — 54 TWh more than gas — more than double their output of just five years earlier.
NASA’s Hubble took the most detailed visible-light images yet of an enormous planet-forming disk around the star nicknamed “Dracula’s Chivito,” revealing a structure 40 times wider than our solar system and far more turbulent than expected.
Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Ningbo reported all-perovskite tandem solar cells with a certified 30.3% efficiency on rigid devices and 28% on flexible ones, using a chemistry-guided method to grow cleaner crystals.
On May 7, 2026, the energy company Axpo inaugurated the Vilecha solar complex in León province, Spain — four photovoltaic plants totalling 200 MWp with 365,000 modules. It is expected to generate more than 377 GWh of clean electricity a year, enough for around 100,000 people, while avoiding roughly 75,000 tonnes of CO2.
Adelaide University researchers reported a solar-driven process that uses light-activated catalysts to break down waste plastic at low temperatures, producing clean hydrogen and useful chemicals instead of pollution.
For the first time on record, renewable energy generated more electricity globally than coal, contributing 34.3% of all electricity versus coal's 33.1%, with solar alone covering 83% of the rise in demand.
Chinese solar manufacturer LONGi reached 34.85% conversion efficiency on a perovskite-silicon tandem cell, certified by the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory — a milestone underscored by the IEA's State of Energy Innovation 2026.
Japanese researchers have achieved 130% effective efficiency in solar panels by harvesting heat energy that traditional panels waste, potentially transforming renewable energy economics.
Yancey County's Double Island Volunteer Fire Department installed a solar-powered microgrid with battery storage, creating a resilience hub that operates during power outages and reduces energy costs.
Wind and solar produced 30% of EU electricity in 2025, overtaking coal, oil, and gas at 29%, while Norway achieved 97% electric vehicle sales in a landmark year for clean energy.
The world added a record 814 gigawatts of new wind and solar capacity in 2025, up 17% from 2024, as the renewable energy transition accelerates far faster than most experts predicted.
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has detected water vapor in the atmosphere of TRAPPIST-1e, marking the first confirmed detection of water on a rocky planet in a star's habitable zone outside our solar system.
Tandem perovskite-silicon solar cells have reached a certified 34.85% efficiency, far surpassing the ~24% ceiling of commercial silicon panels. Companies like Oxford PV are now shipping commercial modules with efficiencies up to 29%.
Clean power generated more electricity than fossil fuels in the EU in 2025. Wind and solar hit 30.1% vs fossil fuels at 29.0%. China and India both reduced coal generation simultaneously for the first time since 1973.
Hybrid perovskite-silicon solar cells have reached power conversion efficiencies over 34%, far surpassing conventional silicon panels at 24%. The first commercial versions are expected to reach the market in 2026.
The journal Science named the global renewable energy surge its 2025 Breakthrough of the Year. For the first time, renewables surpassed coal as a source of electricity worldwide, with solar and wind growing fast enough to cover the entire increase in global electricity demand in the first half of the year.
Astronomers have confirmed GJ 887 d, a super-Earth exoplanet orbiting in the habitable zone of a nearby red dwarf star, making it the second-nearest known habitable zone planet to our solar system.
Engineers at MIT have created a passive solar desalination system that converts seawater to drinking water using only sunlight, with no electricity or filters needed, at a cost competitive with tap water in many developing countries.
The International Energy Agency confirmed that solar power is now the fastest-growing source of electricity generation ever recorded, with costs dropping 90% in the past decade and installations surging worldwide.
Verified report based on cited source.
Verified report based on cited source.
Analysis by Carbon Brief finds China's CO2 emissions fell 0.3% in 2025 and have been "flat or falling" for 21 months since March 2024. A surge in solar (+43%), wind (+14%) and nuclear (+8%) generation met all of the country's electricity demand growth — a potential turning point for the world's largest emitter.
Stanford's Prakash Lab built Octopi, an affordable AI-powered microscope that autonomously scans blood for malaria, screening up to a million cells per minute and running on batteries or solar in off-grid clinics.
A new solar-powered desalination system can produce fresh water at a fraction of traditional costs, bringing clean drinking water to water-scarce coastal regions.
Plug-in balcony solar panels are booming across Europe, allowing renters and apartment dwellers to generate clean energy without rooftop access or landlord permission.
Solar energy was confirmed as the fastest growing source of electricity in history in 2025, growing from 1% to 9% of global electricity in just a decade. Combined with wind, renewables overtook coal as the world's leading electricity source for the first time.
China's National Energy Administration reported that renewable energy made up over 60% of the country's total installed power capacity in 2025. The world's largest energy consumer added more than 430 gigawatts of new wind and solar in a single year, pushing renewable capacity above 1,800 gigawatts.
Researchers at Monash University and IIT Bombay built SunSpring, a floating solar-desalination membrane studded with microscopic "carbon flowers" that distills seawater continuously, up to 18 liters of fresh water a day, without clogging with salt.
University of Newcastle researchers developed a chemical-free method to extract silver from used solar panels by grinding them into powder and floating silver to the surface in water.
In a remarkable year for planetary science, astronomers confirmed the discovery of over 100 previously unknown moons orbiting planets in our solar system during 2025, reshaping our understanding of the outer planets.
Science Magazine declared the unstoppable rise of renewable energy as 2025's Breakthrough of the Year, with China installing record-breaking solar and wind capacity.
For the first time, renewable sources generated a third of the world's electricity in 2025, with solar and wind leading an accelerating energy transition.
Engineer Guihua Yu won the 2025 Global Prize for Innovation in Water for hydrogel systems that purify seawater and harvest drinking water from air using only sunlight, aimed at off-grid communities.
JinkoSolar reported a certified 34.76% efficiency for a perovskite-silicon tandem solar cell, edging close to the world record and signaling steady progress toward cheaper, higher-yield panels.
Solar-powered cold storage units installed at the farm gate in India are helping smallholder farmers cut spoilage and avoid forced discount sales, addressing post-harvest losses that reach up to a third of some harvests.
Australia announced it will provide at least three hours of free solar-generated electricity per day to all households — even those without solar panels — thanks to massive renewable energy capacity.
For the first time in history, the combined power of wind and solar has overtaken coal as the leading source of electricity worldwide, marking a crucial energy turning point.
The Ember think tank confirmed solar as the fastest growing source of electricity ever, rising from 1% to 9% of global electricity in just a decade with costs falling 90%.
Pakistan imported about 17 gigawatts of solar panels in 2024, becoming one of the world's largest solar markets almost overnight. The boom is led not by government mandates but by households, farmers and businesses installing rooftop panels to escape soaring electricity prices. Analysts project solar could reach roughly a fifth of national electricity by 2026.
China's carbon dioxide emissions dropped for the first time during economic growth, as electricity from new wind, solar and nuclear capacity was enough to cut coal-power output even as demand surged.
All 411 buildings owned by the City of Chicago now run on renewable energy or offset emissions, powered largely by the largest solar farm east of the Mississippi.
Researchers have achieved a world record 33.9% efficiency with tandem perovskite-silicon solar cells, bringing next-generation solar technology closer to commercial reality.
